Ari Folman has denied a report by Israel Radio that thieves attempted to steal his Cesar Awards statue on Friday night, just hours after the Israeli director won it when his animated documentary Waltz with Bashir was named best foreign film at the awards.

Israel Radio reported Saturday that the attackers attempted to steal the statue at an awards after-party being held at a Paris nightclub.

"Waltz With Bashir", an animated documentary on the horrors of the 1982 Lebanon war, was named best foreign film at the French awards night Friday, adding to its Golden Globe prize and an award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association earlier this year.

Folman, who this week missed out on an Academy Award in the same category, becomes the first Israeli director to ever capture an award from the French academy of film.

The Israeli film beat out Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" and Matteo Garrone's Mafia epic "Gomorra".

With the award, "Waltz with Bashir" joins a list of films that have enjoyed critical and box-office success in cinemas worldwide. Previous winners of the best foreign film award include Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" and Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation."

The best foreign film at the Academy Awards was captured by the Japanese flick "Departures." The Cesar is the last notable film awards ceremony scheduled for this year. Folman's victory is another in a long line of impressive feats credited to any Israeli film.

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